Dead DVDs Celebrate Band's 40th Birthday

5/25/2005

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Grateful Dead's founding in San Francisco, as well as the 10th anniversary of the death of the band's reluctant leader, Jerry Garcia.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Grateful Dead's founding in San Francisco, as well as the 10th anniversary of the death of the band's reluctant leader, Jerry Garcia. Monterey Video will commemorate the milestones with concert and documentary DVDs, due July 5.

"Truckin' Up to Buffalo" captures the band on July 4, 1989, at Rich Stadium in Buffalo, N.Y., in the midst of a tour that was arguably the peak of the band's latter era career. The nearly three-hour Independence Day show is preserved in its entirety, and includes a host of classics, including "Deal," "Ship of Fools," "Bertha," and an apropos encore performance of "U.S. Blues."

One song from the show was previously officially released; "Man Smart, Woman Smarter" appeared on guitarist Bob Weir's 2004 retrospective "Weir Here" (Hybrid Recordings).

The video portion of "Truckin'" utilizes the original master tape from a six-camera shoot at the venue, while the DVD's audio includes 5.1 Surround and stereo mixes taken from multi-track soundboard tapes. A two-disc CD version of the show due from Grateful Dead Records was mastered in HDCD.

Monterey's second offering, "The End of the Road," is a documentary about the Grateful Dead's final tour. Begun three months before Garcia's death, the filmmakers planned to capture life on the road with the enduring act but ended up witnessing the outpouring of grief and celebration of his life at the public memorial held in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.

The film includes appearances by late Nigerian drummer Babatunde Olatunji, organist and frequent Garcia collaborator Merl Saunders and 1960s counter-culture figure Wavy Gravy. Bonus features include uncut footage of the memorial and extended interviews.